Musicboxshipping Christmas
by ChasingJudai
Summary: Sora isn't suppose to like soft-hearted sentiments because they break easily, but here he is, this winter, enjoying every bit of them. "You were worried about me, Yuzu?" (Academia doesn't teach worry.) "Of course. I'd never want you hurt, Sora." (You're the first to care, Yuzu.) (Takes place before the Battle Royale ever occurred.)


It was odd. Yuzu kept...making excuses. Was he being too "invasive" as Yuya would put it? It was true that he did have a habit of sometime overstepping the bounds of someone's personal space but he didn't do it **that much**. It doesn't really matter anyway. Sora looks disinterested, as he chomps down on his lollipop. "Standard Dimension is boring," Sora thought, throwing the the lollipop stick down and stamping on it.

"Academia sent me to invade this place!? There's nothing here that stands out except for pendulum summoning and I...suppose a nice change of atmosphere. It's peaceful." It's different from the usual green trees swaying along the breeze, the babbling brooks, and cooing flock of birds this time of year.

In it's place are snowflakes falling ever so gently and there is a rushing wind. People are smiling and laughing, leaving Sora to wonder, "How can they be so happy when all that's coming from the sky is frozen water? What's so fun about it landing on them?" Sora huffs, before smirking. "It's hilarious to think how ignorant they are of Academia's invasions," Sora thought, but his smirk soon returned to a frown as he glanced up at the scenery.

Standard Dimension is calming as opposed to the grueling training stimulations of trying to survive death, but…

"That doesn't mean anything!," Sora mumbles, letting out a white puff of smoke from his mouth due to the frosty air. "They're left in the shadows, knowing nothing about the thrill and harshness of battle. I was foolish to think of preferring this scenery to Academia. I'm smarter than that." Sora scowls, as he hugs his arms to his chest. It's freezing and Academia never sent..provisions.

It was up to you to retrieve your own food and clothes. Sora only thought about the excitement of tormenting and carding people, not about the basic necessities. He'd manage though. Maybe he could steal and sneak around Miami City. The people here were incredibly gullible, so he'd doubt that they would even notice.

Something else was bothering him. Over his right eye lays a pack of bandages, and he remembers how he got it. "Another dumb argument with the Professor," Sora thought. "There's nothing at Standard Dimension," Sora argued to the Professor but the Professor shook his head. "Look again," the Professor told him.

"I told you there was nothing there!," Sora yelled only for the Professor to knock over his glass cup, sending shards of it into Sora's right eye. "ARGH!," Sora yelped in pain, clutching his right eye as blood flowed from it. The wine from the glass cup spilled onto the floor and Sora slipped on it. This was the height of dishonor. "Let that be your incentive to **never** disobey me, **prisoner** ," the Professor told Sora and the nurses were soon attending to Sora, but that didn't make his bitterness any better.

Sora growls, as he thought about what boredom he had been having lately. Yuzu would insist that they watch other students duel for help on dueling strategies but Sora was less interested in all of the opponents. All of their strategies were so obvious. Had they not learned anything about stealth or precision? How about getting into the heads of their opponents? Messing around with their opponents? How about bluffing to conceal the master plan? If they were sent to battle, they would all **die.**

Sora also isn't happy with all of the reactions the opponents trigger from the people he's with. Yuzu's dad is also easily surprised by far too many moves and Sora is tired of having to spell out why that would of been a predictable and plausible move. They react the same way. By that, he means the kids..uh, what were their names again? That's right. Futoshi, Tatsuya, and Ayu. It's not like they were his superiors so why did he have to learn their names?

If one would argue that he could say the same for Yuya and Yuzu, it was different, because he was using them as a cover for his allegiance to Academia. All he had to do was pose like an innocent duelist having friendly relations. It worked because Yuya and Yuzu could even look like older siblings and him a younger sibling. He was pretending an everyday relationship that everyone usually saw and it was working. No one would suspect that, would they?

Yuzu and Yuya were the perfect candidates. The only ones that hadn't irritated him throughout all of the duels had been Yuya and Yuzu. They had quietly been studying all the movements which in Sora's mind was the fine mark of a good duelist. What he didn't like was their final verdict, which was, "Well, that duelist may not have won but at least they had fun."

Fun? There's no fun if you can't win. If you don't win in a real duel, you get carded. Sora narrows his eyes at Yuya and Yuzu thinking, "They're far too soft." Softness is not a quality he will ever like. If people treat you soft it's because they're afraid you'll break and don't trust you even though you should have the strength. It's disgusting and **he hates it.**

What else does he hate? Oh yes. The way Yuzu keeps making excuses this week. He wonders if it's because he is letting his cover slip and she is getting suspicious. That can't be it though. Sora remembers when he got her test opponents and she had won with ease. It was perfect. Perfect until she always would offer a hand to her opponent and with a tender smile say, "It was fun. You did great. I hope to duel you again." Then the opponent would take her hand, smiling, and let her help them up.

Sora felt the need to vomit at how kind she was being. "Be ruthless, Yuzu," Sora thinks. "Helping them up? They don't need it. I don't even know why I'm teaching you fusion summon." Then, he remembers, flashes of memories with Academia duelists who want to join their friends in battle to protect them but can't because they get carded. Yuzu asked for help to join Yuya in battle. The twinge of pain sharpens in his chest and he has to try to recapture breath. He clutches his heart but a voice snaps him out of it.

"Sora, what's wrong?," Yuzu asked, and Sora cursed himself for losing cover. "N-nothing," Sora says, through a pained smile. "I was clutching my heart to show how your dueling makes my heart excited far too much." "I was..worried about you throughout all of those duels," Yuzu confesses. "Your mind just seemed..elsewhere."

Yuzu doesn't believe his comment for why he was clutching his heart, but she decides to not press on any further.

"I get it," Yuzu begins seriously.

"I hadn't even thought of it, but..you're probably mad because you haven't gotten to duel at all today. I've been taking up most of your time. I should of been...more considerate. I even said "Please teach me how to fusion summon" and not "Can you teach me how to fusion summon?" I didn't even give you a choice when you deserve to do what you want. "

The words resonate within Sora, and he now has his full attention on her. All he had ever done was follow orders. No one had ever told him he deserved to do what we wanted. "To do what..I want?," Sora asks, and Yuzu nods her head. "And you were...worried about me?" Yuzu is confused at why he is surprised at all of this. Yuzu cares for Sora and loves his kind soul. She loves him. Enough to say it makes her cheeks flush and her heart beat out of her chest, even if she tries to deny it. "Of course I worry about someone I care about," Yuzu answers, so honestly that Sora has to wonder if he's ever met a more open soul before. Academia had never worried about him or told them they cared for him.

Now, he is really paying attention to Yuzu. All of her. From her pink pigtails, her blue shimmering eyes, and her parted lips. "But there's no need to worry if I completed mastery. If you do, you don't trust that person," Sora reasons. Academia taught that. Worry was the sign of not trusting someone. When you attained mastery, you had full assurance. "That's not it," Yuzu shakes her head.

"I worry..because I care about you. If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't even bother to worry." Sora's eyes now widen at this. Of course. How he had been so blind? What Yuzu was saying made a lot more sense but..now he was conflicted between Academia's teachings? "Sora?," Yuzu inquires, and Sora looks at her once more. All he can see is concern for him and it's not something he's used to. He has to make sure what he heard was right.

"You're worried..about me?," Sora asks, and Yuzu nods once more. She must be lying. It's too good to be true and Sora has been taught by Academia that if it is..soft-hearted it's wrong, but.. she's not afraid of him breaking. She trusts him. Sora doesn't get it and he's not sure how to react, but it's a new part of the game that he wasn't anticipating and..it, for some reason..made him feel warm happiness inside. He was to try all new options if he didn't want to be bored. This was one of them but, boredom didn't feel like the primary reason this time.

Sora chuckles, before gently placing a hand on Yuzu's shoulder, shocking her. "That's sweet, Yuzu," Sora replies and Yuzu returns his reply back with a smile so gentle and..soft.

Sora focuses on it and is confused. "I don't get it," Sora thought. "I should hate such soft-hearted sentiments. If something is soft, it can break at any second." At that moment the hard lollipop in his mouth cracks and Sora is left to wonder something. "That's not true. Something hard in my mouth just broke. It wasn't soft but it still broke. Have I..had the answer all along? Is Academia wrong? Should I allow myself soft hearted relationships instead of hard battles? Yuzu is..soft hearted, but she always has confidence when she duels and she never breaks down so easily. She also didn't think getting help was a mistrust of her ability. If anything, she's still..doing fusion summoning with her own hands, and I'm just giving is words. She's the one who controls whether she listens to those words or not. Academia always told me getting help was a mistrust of your ability but it wasn't."

"But..all I had been given was worded orders. I controlled whether I did listen or not to the Professor's orders. I did have a choice. Just because someone was ordering me to do something didn't mean he had no mind. I'm not a prisoner." Sora then shakes his head. "I can't betray Academia, but.."

"Something wrong, Sora?," Yuzu asks, and Sora has so much bottled inside of him. He wants to say "Yes" but he's perplexed. He doesn't know what he wants anymore. Sora struggles for the answer and Yuzu lightly grasps his hand. "It's okay if you can't answer right away," Yuzu said, in a comforting voice. "You always give answers so quickly without a thought, but...you're thinking this time, so I at least know you're not at all mindless when it comes to doing things and I'd rather you be that than me just telling you what I want to learn. I get to know you, Sora."

Sora stares, as so many thoughts flood his consciousness. Yuzu's hand feels soft around his..and Sora feels safe, and warm.

He looks at Yuzu to see her gently smiling, and everything about her seems soft. Everything. From her arched shoulders, from her bare arms, from her neck, from her sapphire eyes shining, from her forehead, from her pigtails, and lastly, her smiling lips. He just wants to touch her and hold her. Everything about her is open and an invitation not at all closed but..that's the problem. It's so inviting that anyone could just waltz in and destroy her, and he wonders why doesn't she keep all of her body language closed?

She could get hurt if she doesn't. If someone left themself wide open, you attack, but..Sora can't find it in him to do so. He tries to reason that he is still obedient to Academia. After all, it's..his home and all he has ever known, but that belief is slowly fraying. His thoughts are now frantic. Yuzu is not protecting herself. He doesn't want anyone, including himself, to hurt her. "Her being involved with me will only hurt her," Sora thinks solemnly.

The last couple of weeks had been anything but fun. He hadn't been able to find food nor a house he could stay in. He was also irritated when questions about where he had come from were popped. He had began to sleep in abandoned areas of Miami City, switching from time to time. It was frustrating but what could he do? He needed to push her away. Protect her, and..he has a plan. It will work. It has to.

"I'm fine, Yuzu!," Sora shouts, before giving a teasing smile. "You're worrying too much! You know, it's said when a pretty girl worries over a handsome guy such as myself, that pretty girl is in love with that guy." Yuzu is now blushing slightly and Sora laughs loudly. "HA HA HA HA, YOU SHOULD SEE YOUR FACE, YUZU!," Sora continues and Yuzu's blush quickly fades to be replaced with anger.

Thunk. Sora clutches the top part of his head that she had hit with her fan, faking tears as he whines, "Yuuuuuzzzzzuuuuuu, why did you hit me?" "I can't..I can't believe I was actually worried about you," Yuzu mutters grumpily and Sora continues to laugh some more. "Well, I'll leave you to your laughing. I have to leave as Dad is waiting."

"Yuzu," Sora states, sending her a serious gaze that she has never seen on his face. He just needs to…He wants her. He wants her in his arms and he wants to hold her, but inside of him are so many conflicting thoughts.

Thump, thump, thump, thump. Sora is now slowly approaching her and she almost seems..scared, with his emerald eyes being so..intense on her. Thump, thump, thump. Her heartbeats are racing. Thump, thump, thump.

He's now in front of her, and he sees Yuzu's ears are bright red, along with the locks of her hair that are tucked in. Sora grabs a single lock of her hair, and kisses it, which makes the blood in Yuzu's ears pound. Sora then looks up at her, giving her a devilish smirk, and he's not done yet, because then he grabs her hands, rubbing his fingers against them, and Yuzu isn't quite sure how to feel about it.

Sora can see her, blushing madly and Sora just wants to reserve this sight for himself, pressing up against her, just to show how much he wanted her with him but that's not the plan. She's beautiful though. From the way her azure eyes stare back at him with so much wonder, he can tell just how beautiful she is.

"I meant it when I said you are a pretty girl, " Sora confesses, and Yuzu quickly backs away, stuttering, "I-I h-have to leave! Bye Sora!" Sora feels disappointed but it's going according to the plan.

Yuzu then runs away and Sora is darkly laughing. "According..to the plan," Sora repeats and then he bursts into dark chuckles, claiming,"All I know is to go according to the plan."

"Her thoughts must be scattered now," Sora thought. "She can't suspect me if she's left trying to understand what I just did." Sora then leans back, his arms crossed behind him. "That being said she is still observant and not completely easy to fool. She'll probably think it's out of the blue and completely random, and suspect something really is wrong. She'll take it as a distraction of hiding the truth."

"I need to do something that seems friendly. Something that will reassure her that she can trust me." Something stops him though. "Why did I do that? I thought it was just me acting on behalf of Academia but..I..personally wanted to do that." Yuzu worried for him and cared for him. Why? Why would she?

The days afterward went by with awkwardness. He would encounter Yuzu but she seemed...secretive. Though she would smile, she honestly seemed..timorous. He's growing impatient with her because he wants her to tell him. No, this was wrong. He hadn't even told Yuzu what was wrong with him so why would she tell him what she was worrying about, and he should be separating himself from her to protect her. He doesn't want to leave Yuzu though.

He wishes Yuzu wouldn't make such bad excuses though. She would claim she had errands to run and he would see her with the kids, her dad, Yuya, Sawatari, anyone that wasn't him.

What was so important that she had to make up excuses? "Stop questioning," Sora commanded himself but he couldn't. The curiosity begged to be answered.

Forget trying to push her away. He would just..have to act like an Academia soldier. Follow orders, but he can't just always follow orders, can he? It was then that he saw her, as he trudged through the snow. Before he could make any choice to forward or backward, Yuzu called his name, with a horrified expression.

Yuzu rushed up asking, "Sora!? What happened to your eye!?" Sora looks down, not wanting to talk about it. "It's no big deal," Sora comments but Yuzu's fingers trace down the bandages. "This is awful," Yuzu whispers, and her eyes are filled with such remorse, that Sora wants to find some way to make them happier.

"And you're not wearing anything warm!" "Yeah, but..," Sora begins to protest but Yuzu takes off the blue coat she is wearing and drapes it on to him. Sora is taken aback before he asks, "Yuzu, what about you!?" "We just have to find a place warm to stay," Yuzu says, grabbing his hand and leading him with a determined glare.

They had found a hotel room that told them it was on the house, and they couldn't have been more glad. Sora didn't remember where because he was caught up by one question. Before he could open his mouth, Yuzu stated, "You can keep that coat." "I'm sorry if it seems like I've been making excuses but I just had to make sure I knitted that coat right. Ah, wait a moment! You're cold and..you're probably hungry. I'll make us something to eat. I know the hotel has a kitchen!"

Yuzu ran down the steps energetically, and beamed enthusiastically, and Sora quietly follows afterwards. "I don't know...why I stay around you, Yuzu," Sora thinks, smiling. "What do you think of this meal?," Yuzu asks, and Sora peers over at her at the recipe book. "Maybe..it's..," Sora begins before stating, "The Shrimp Meal seems good." "So you like shrimp, Sora? Very well," Yuzu beams and Sora thinks once again, "Maybe it's just your happiness."

"Sora, it's winter. You really shouldn't be walking outside without any warm clothes! That's why I knitted you a coat!," Yuzu chides, and Sora smiles. "Is it your complaining?," Sora inwardly asks. "Or just your concern? You're the first to care, Yuzu." "Oh and I can't forget," Yuzu begins before saying, "Merry Christmas!" "Does it..hurt?," Yuzu asks, as she reaches her hand against his bandages and Sora catches her hand softly, smiling, saying, "It doesn't hurt..now that you're here."

Yuzu blushes which only makes Sora laugh. "You do this just to see me flustered!," Yuzu grumbles and Sora just sends her a good natured grin. "It is kinda fun," Sora responds cheerfully before leaning forward and kissing her forehead. "W-Why d-did you?," Yuzu stutters and Sora points up, revealing a mistletoe.

"Was it..bad?," Sora asks, and Yuzu sees excitement and also fear in her face. It's so sweet and she didn't mind the kiss. She was surprised at first. "You're always meaning well," Yuzu thinks before she shakes her head and says, "I enjoyed it." Sora averts his gaze timidly before grabbing her arms, and leaning a bit forward.

"Then..can I..do it again..I mean, that is, if you want it?," Sora asks, and Yuzu's eyes turn into a haze along with his and pink dusts her cheeks. "I won't mind," Yuzu says in a low tone and Sora's lips are on her lips, and as he wraps his arms around her waist, she wraps her hands around his neck.

It's what she wants. Sora, the man she loves, is with her. "I love you. Don't ever change," Sora confesses and Yuzu smiles and says, "I love you. Don't ever change."

"Merry Christmas, Yuzu."

"Merry Christmas, Sora."

Author's Note: Merry Christmas! I had to write my OTP on Christmas. I could not resist! Lol.

I am still working on the Hearts of A Student and Teacher but I am stumped on what to write my next chapter as for that fanfic. I'll figure it out! Thanks for reading! ^_^


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